With the arrest of a wanted gangster and his associates on Monday, Delhi Police claimed to have foiled a gunbattle that was set to take place in a Haryana court.

The accused, Vikas Dalal, is among the top five gangsters in the capital, police said. He had been instructed by gangster Manjeet Mahal to target two brothers, Jyoti and Kapil Sangwan, who are supposed to show up for a court hearing soon, police said. Both undertrials are lodged in Haryana’s Rohtak jail in connection with murder cases.

Police said Dalal and his associates had procured weapons for the “hit” and were awaiting the right moment.

The Sangwan brothers, sources said, have a running rivalry with Mahal, currently lodged in Tihar Jail. As part of their gang war — which has raged in outer, west and southwest Delhi — associates of the Sangwan brothers allegedly gunned down Mahal’s father, Shri Krishan, when he was standing outside his residence in Najafgarh in January this year.

Sources told The Indian Express that after Mahal’s arrest in 2016, Dalal (27) assumed command of his gang. He used to get instructions from Mahal with the help of their associates. During one court hearings, Mahal gave him the task to avenge his father’s death by gunning down the Sangwan brothers, police said.

Mahal, who has been running a gang since early 2000, first developed a rivalry with the Sangwan brothers to establish dominance over an area in southwest Delhi. Police said Mahal and his gang members allegedly killed Sangwan’s brother-in-law Sunil alias Doctor in December, 2015. Since then, over six persons have been gunned down from both sides.

Dalal, along with Gaurav (23), Kaptan (22), Hemant (22) and Tikmu alias Reena (23), was arrested on Sunday from west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar. With their arrest, police claimed to have worked out 11 cases — including seven cases of murder and three of attempt to murder — reported between February and May this year.

Police said Dalal used Tikmu to “lure” Rinkoo, an alleged member of the Sangwan gang. On March 14, she invited Rinkoo to celebrate her birthday in Gurgaon. When Rinkoo was near ITM University in Sector 23, he was allegedly gunned down by Dalal and his accomplices, police said.

Police sources told The Indian Express that stories of gang wars in Delhi and of criminals giving a slip to the police had enticed Tikmu to join Dalal and “lure” Rinkoo.

Police said she had done an operation theatre course from a private college in Chandigarh and was staying in a paying guest accommodation. She met Dalal in November 2016, when she had accompanied her friends to Kullu, where the gangster was hiding.

She has been sent to the custody of Gurgaon police, while Dalal and three others are in custody of Delhi Police. Police said they are trying to find where the gang sourced the weapons from.